I saw this video in You Tube and it reminds me of a few of my past students who were not taught how to spell,write or read by anybody.They had the skill I believe when they were born.It is what we call "splinter skills" or "savant skill".
Savant gifts, or splinter skills, may be exhibited in the following skill areas or domains: memory; hyperlexia (ie the exceptional ability to read, spell and write); art; music; mechanical or spatial skill; calendar calculation; mathematical calculation; sensory sensitivity; athletic performance; and computer ability. These skills may be remarkable in contrast to the disability of autism, or may be in fact prodigious when viewed in relation to the non-disabled person.
I can recall a former student who st the time i handled him was 8 years old.His mom told me that he started spelling words before he can talk at 8 or 10 months old.She told me they were shocked to see him spell out a word using his toy alphabet.Thats when they knew he can read and he can spell.
They started engouraging him by buying more toys that he can use for playing and spelling and they started buying him books.He loved books,he doesnt want toys like other children.Everyday this boy would ask his mom to bring him to a bookstore to buy books but since they cannot afford to buy one everyday,it was enough for him to go to the bookstore and read there.He scans,he doesnt read.You can see this by looking on how fast his eyes moves and how fast he turns the pages.But when I ask him about what he read,he cannot answer me.Its all locked up in his brain.
Watch in this video how this boy is holding the pen.Most of my students holds the pen or pencil the wrong way.It's because they learned to write on their own.
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3 comments:
i was expected the same with my children coz we never teach them how to hold a pen. surprisingly, they hold it the correct way and by 2 years old! they observed well. :D
My son holds the pencils/crayons this way and I never thought about it in this context. He has known his alphabet and numbers since he was 20 months old and we (husband and I) never taught them to him - he just seemed to "discover" it..I have been trying for a the past couple of months to teach him to hold the crayon the right way, but he seems content in doing it his way. He will be 3 on May 19, and had been diagnosed with High Functioning Autism - although the doctors believe that as he gets older they will be able to evaluate more and that will turn into a definite diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome.
Anyways, this blog is wonderful - thank you.
Hi! I work with children with autism also, and am studying to be a special ed teacher. I just found your blog today, and it is fascinating! I will definitely come back to check it out every day.
Since you do work with kids, I wondered if you might be interested in this "chapter" book, DANNY, DANNY SUPERSTAR! (I wrote it.) It is from the point of view of a little boy with autism. I wrote it because I noticed there seemed to be a lot of books about kids with special needs, but not many from their point of view. Maybe you could look at the preview and tell me what you think? Its at http://www.lulu.com/content/876886
Keep up the good work! I'll add you to my blogroll!
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